Summary
Documentary series looking at crime in times of war. Street gangs, looters, deserters, sexual predators and even serial killers were undeterred by the heroic war effort going on around them.
Documentary series looking at crime in times of war. Street gangs, looters, deserters, sexual predators and even serial killers were undeterred by the heroic war effort going on around them.
In the first of a new series about Second World War criminals, there are echoes of Peaky Blinders in its profile of Billy Hill, a London gangster who took advantage of the Blitz to create a criminal empire.
Hill grew up in a family of ne’er-do-wells, but he set his mind on extending from petty thievery and smash-and-grabs to grand-scale wrongdoing. The blackout and the internment of “alien” Italians, some of whom had run everything from racing protection rackets to Soho drinking dens, proved extremely convenient to his plans. A smart, if violent, operator, who thrived despite stints inside, Hill is a fascinating character, and this is a well put-together doc, with some great archive footage and lively contributors.
role | name |
---|---|
Narrator | Mike Bodie |
role | name |
---|---|
Director | Elio Espana |
Producer | Tom O'Dell |
Composer | Chris Ingham |
Godfather of London
In the first of a new series about Second World War criminals, there are echoes of Peaky Blinders in its profile of Billy Hill, a London gangster who took advantage of the Blitz to create a criminal empire.
Hill grew up in a family of ne’er-do-wells, but he set his mind on extending from petty thievery and smash-and-grabs to grand-scale wrongdoing. The blackout and the internment of “alien” Italians, some of whom had run everything from racing protection rackets to Soho drinking dens, proved extremely convenient to his plans. A smart, if violent, operator, who thrived despite stints inside, Hill is a fascinating character, and this is a well put-together doc, with some great archive footage and lively contributors.
role | name |
---|---|
Narrator | Mike Bodie |
role | name |
---|---|
Director | Elio Espana |
Producer | Tom O'Dell |
Composer | Chris Ingham |